Wednesday, May 16, 2012

School of Education Works to Engage Students Online

By Bruce Buchanan

Today’s college students have been described “digital
natives”—to their generation, the Internet, e-mail, social networking and other
forms of online communication always have existed. To them, firing off a text
message or performing a Google search comes just as naturally as picking up the
telephone or opening a textbook did for previous generations. Not surprisingly,
millions of college students each year are taking online classes – even
on-campus students who also take traditional courses. A 2010 report found that
73 percent of colleges and universities were seeing an increase in the demand
for online classes.

So to meet the needs of these students, the School of
Education, and UNCG in general, are expanding and improving online learning
options. Dr. Anthony Chow, Assistant Professor in the Department of Library and
Information Studies, is spearheading this effort.

“Online learning is a global phenomenon that is being driven
by students,” Dr. Chow said. “I’ve been dealing with online learning since
2000. Even then, students were voting with their dollars and keyboards.”
Approximately 20 percent of UNCG’s courses now have some type of online
component.

Starting in early 2010, the School of Education began a
comprehensive look at how it could improve online offerings. Dr. Chow prepared
a report, based on a nationwide survey that drew 1,400 responses.

“We’ve seen a lot of what works and what doesn’t,” he said.
“We have a good sense of what quality online learning looks like.”

And what does quality online learning look like? Dr. Chow
says a good online program:

Has to be interactive
between faculty, students and the course content. An online program can’t
just be a “correspondence course,” Dr. Chow said. “It’s all about
interaction and communication.”

Must have real-time
support. “One of the big issues with online learning is that students
aren’t getting face-to-face support,” Dr. Chow said. So online programs
must have a real-time component – via instant messaging, desktop sharing
or online video, for example – where students can ask questions and get
immediate answers. Otherwise, technical issues can thwart even the most
dedicated students and instructors.

Needs to have an
orientation, where expectations are outlined up front.

Requires well-prepared
faculty who understand how to fully utilize the technology. Dr. Chow says
professional development is essential in this regard.

The ideal program, according to Dr. Chow, will offer a
real-time learning component, while still allowing students the option of
completing course work on their own time, since flexibility is a key selling
point of online learning. For example, an instructor may host a course in which
some students participate at that time, either in class or remotely. But that
same course could be recorded and posted online for other students to view
whenever their schedules allow. Dr. Chow himself has taught courses this way
and says this arrangement works well.

“The beauty of it is that I only have to give one lecture
(for both on-site and online students),” he said.

Faculty buy-in is vital to a successful online learning
program. But that also can be one of the biggest challenges.

The School of Education has adopted a strictly voluntary
approach to teaching online courses. Faculty members are encouraged to
participate, but no one is forced to teach online unless he or she wants to.

Dr. Chow believes universities can use online learning to reach
people who might not be able to attend traditional classes. By expanding course
offerings to people who otherwise wouldn’t enroll, for example, people who live
in rural areas or students who work during normal classroom hours, the School
of Education is accommodating the schedule of potential students.

“The thing online learning does really well is increase
access to our disciplines,” Dr. Chow said. “There’s something very appealing
about reaching out to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to pursue a
degree.”

One particular area for growth Dr. Chow and other leaders
have identified is in providing classes to people who aren’t interested in
enrolling as college students. For example, UNCG faculty can provide
professional development courses to teachers, administrators and others interested
in the curriculum.

Additionally, he and others are working on include creating
an online help desk and conducting an online learning needs assessment for the
entire School of Education. All of these steps are a part of making sure the
School of Education has the high-quality online learning program that students
are increasingly demanding.

“Success and high quality are outcomes of doing things the
right way,” Dr. Chow said. And this is the aim of the School of Education.